Half-Life 2's Lost Coast

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A shiny new feature is coming soon.

By Tom McNamara

Today, Valve software announced several neat new things coming down the Half-Life 2 pipeline, the neatest of which is the inclusion of High Dynamic Range lighting, or HDR, an effect that gives light a very realistic glow. Many of you have probably already witnessed an early technology demo that featured this tech, yet it didn't make it into the final game. Well, Valve is not only adding it to the Source engine, but showcasing it in a new level called "The Lost Coast." Interestingly, we're hearing the Steam will detect your hardware specifications to determine if your computer is capable of supporting HDR, but it will be free of charge. As of right now, only a limited number of high-end video cards support this feature. As far as release dates are concerned, Valve says, "Over the next month or so." In the meantime, they've release a quartet of concept sketches to whet our appetite, which you can check out here.

In related news, Valve will be releasing another CS: Source map called cs_compound, and introducing the crowbar, Stunstick, and Slam to HL2 deathmatch. Additionally, they will add a new deathmatch map while they sort through the submissions for the map contest.